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EA To Discontinue Online Pass

According to a new VentureBeat report, publisher Electronic Arts has elected to kill their controversial Online Pass system. Is that applause...?

EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg said that the company will be discontinuing the program, and that none of EA's titles will include it in the future. Other companies that have chosen the Online Pass tactic in the past are the now-defunct THQ and yes, Sony. The idea was to combat used game sales - of which publishers don't see a dime - and force consumers who bought a pre-owned game to pay $10 to enjoy online entertainment. If you bought the game new, the Pass would be free, thereby encouraging you to avoid the pre-owned shelf.

However, Reseburg said that players "didn't respond to the format:"

"Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn’t respond to the format. We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it, moving forward. We’re still committed to creating content and services that enhance the game experience well beyond the day you first start playing."

Who knows what to do about the pre-owned game issue? One would think that if developers could have just the tiniest fraction of that lucrative market come their way, everyone would be better off. But how?

Comments (20 posts)

I think a few things when I read this:EA doesn't want to be worst company of the year again.EA knows that online distribution's growth will eventually overtake physical copies.EA may know more about the next-gen than we do about online integration and how vital online connectivity is for the next-gen. Community focused driven value can't have obstacles in place that may hurt the proliferation and growth of ips.

I agree. If you buy the game new, it doesn't affect you at all. A lot of people viewed it a greedy, but I thought it made sense as long as a decent chunk of the profit went to the developers (which, given EA, who knows if it actually did.)

I read a article where it described the idea that console games might possibly go the the registration codes like PC games have. That way it could log them and allow the to see which are used and which are new and restrict access with the used games.

Just because they are getting rid of Online Pass and saying it's from negative feedback from gamers, unfourtnately doesnt mean they are done trying to limit the used market. And all this will be mute once the existence of physical media is gone.

Given that we're talking about EA, they've found some other way to screw over the public. It kind of puts me in of the statement they made recently about always-on DRM. EA labels president Frank Gibeau said that "DRM is a failed dead-end strategy" and went on to explain Simcity was actually an MMO so it absolutely needed to be online! So yeah, before I accept that they're sincere I'll need more proof than just EA's word on it. Something like not insisting on running their own servers for console games, leaving the servers running longer than 1-2 years if they do go their own way or making their titles available on Steam.

As someone stated above, they'll likely combat used games sales by introducing more microtransactions in the games themselves. This would force a buyer to dish out money to the publisher regardless of a new or used purchase.

In my eyes, the best way a publisher can combat used games is to offer digital purchases at a reduced price than retail. Retail copy should be $60 while a digital copy should be around $40-50. The immediate impact is selling your game on a medium that cannot be resold.

Microtransactions will have to go next. It's good that someone has seen that these things piss of gamers. It didn't bother me because I'm not big on multiplayer and yeah games cost a lot to make but hey you gotta not be a di*k sometimes.

There is no problem with used games really, devs only need to stick it out by making great games and sooner than we all think physical media will die and there will be no used games to worry about.

The gaming industry is the biggest cry babies when it comes to used sales. The book industry doesn't give 2 cents. Same thing with the anime industry. (I could go on and on) Their biggest worries and what they should be focused on is pirating like the other big boys. Also, find a way to do things without punishing others, period.

right, so they shouldent be worried about something that costs them far, far, FAR more, but they should be worried about something that costs them far, far, FAR less!GENIUS!sometimes i wonder..............

Ok,1. EA has made a smart decision in doing away with OLP and has brought me a step closer to thinking about dealing with them once again.2. A possible solution to pre-owned games is.. (and I can't believe I'm saying this) Possibly a rediculous t... t.... ugh.. TAX! (God those words taste horrible). against all stores that sell PO games. But it would only effect PO prices and would have nothing to do with new game prices. Why would I suggest such a thing? I want to see companies like EB finally get their up 'n commins' with their stupid lowballin the customers...

Also, the money from that tax would then go back into the game industry. The more they get the greater the quality of new games we get to play. This gen was a wee bit of a disappointment in terms of most of the games qualitys. Stay FrostyLowKiie Kill-Em-Quick Dust 514